It is 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) in the hot Texas sun and the manufacturer Goodyear records the track temperature at 150 degrees Fahrenheit (66 degrees Celsius). The temporary circuit of Fair Park in Dallas is visibly disintegrating and F1 drivers do not see how this event can be concluded normally.
The pilots are wondering how their cars will be able to withstand such intense heat. And since they have never driven in similar conditions, some fear they will not be able to hold out. Niki Lauda and Alain Prost believe that the risk is not worth it and try to convince their colleagues to boycott the ordeal. In vain.
In the end, only eight single-seaters will manage to complete this crazy event, which will also produce one of the most striking scenes in the history of the World Championship.
Starting from the leading position for the first time in his career aboard his magnificent Lotus, Nigell Mansell lost a few places during the race. He makes mistakes and his tires deteriorate quickly. As he finishes the last lap, his transmission fails.
With his visor up and his seat belt undone, the Briton negotiates the last corner in slow motion. It is clear that he does not have enough velocity to reach the finish line. In desperation, Mansell escapes from the cockpit and tries to push his car. Completely exhausted, however, he collapsed before crossing the line. He is finally credited with 6th place.
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It is quite unusual to undertake a hockey column by telling an F1 anecdote. But the parallel with the Canadiens is so striking that it seems quite appropriate in the case at hand.
The Canadiens’ interim head coach, Dominique Ducharme
Photo: Minas Panagiotakis
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The Canadiens’ season had started very well. But the more it advances, the more the heat becomes overwhelming and the more its structure cracks everywhere. At the rate things are going, it is even permissible to wonder if Dominique Ducharme will end the season as Mansell had finished the Dallas GP: by desperately pushing a machine which is no longer moving and which will narrowly miss a place in the playoffs which, until recently, it was 99% acquired.
The CH, which had worried its supporters for two months, found a way to raise a higher level of alert in the last week.
After a great victory against the Toronto Leafs last Monday, the Habs followed up with three games in which they hardly touched the puck, so to speak.
In a crucial two-game series against the Calgary Flames, the Montreal team were outscored 30-12 in scoring chances. Then Saturday afternoon, CH was never in the game against the young Ottawa Senators, who left Montreal with an easy 4-0 victory.
Friday evening, however, a miracle occurred. The CH managed to win a game (2-1) that the Flames had dominated 18-5 in terms of scoring chances, in addition to reaching three posts. Without this incredible gift from the hockey gods, the Flames would today be just two points behind the Canadiens with two fewer games to play.
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That said, even though the season is drawing to a close and they hold a 6-point lead over the Flames (with two games in hand), Dominique Ducharme’s men have not come out of the woods.
They flew to Alberta on Sunday, where they will play two games against the Oilers, Monday and Wednesday. They will then travel to Calgary to face the Flames three times in a row starting Friday.
If the CH does not rectify the situation in Edmonton, it could theoretically arrive in Calgary with just two points ahead of the Flames. And if the two teams come face to face early next week, Calgary can then enjoy an incredibly advantageous schedule.
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The Flames’ schedule has been reshuffled due to the massive COVID-19 outbreak that hit the Vancouver Canucks. So while the CH will continue to play four games a week until the end of its season on May 12, the Flames will benefit from the following breaks before five of their last seven games:
- 2 days off before facing the Oilers on April 29.
- 3 days off before facing the Jets on May 5.
- 3 days off before facing the Senators on May 9.
- 3 days off before facing the Canucks on May 13.
- 2 days off before the Canucks on May 18.
What’s more, the Flames will conclude their season playing the Canucks four times in a row. It’s a safe bet that the latter, coming out of a grueling ordeal, will be banged up in mid-May. Although not all of their players were able to return to the game, the Canucks started a ridiculous 19-game streak in 32 days on Sunday.
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To settle the case of the Flames this week, the CH will first of all have to resolve its offensive problems, which are extremely worrying.
Since Brendan Gallagher suffered a hand injury on April 5, CH have averaged a poor 1.57 goals per game, which ranks the team 29th in the NHL. The Habs could not do better than a 2-5 record during this period.
Gallagher will not be returning to the game until the end of the season. Despite the fact that the depth of the formation is meant to be a strength of the CH, the absence of the more combative warrior of the formation remains remarkable. Since the 2016-2017 season, the CH have played for .557 when Gallagher is on the team and only for, 392 when he is not.
Brendan Gallagher’s season is probably over.
Photo : Getty Images / Minas Panagiotakis
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The most recent addition to the roster, veteran center Eric Staal, seems at the end of the line. He hasn’t brought anything so far and you have to be overly optimistic to believe that he will eventually. Staal has the organization’s worst differential (-8) after just 8 games, which is extremely telling.
Fans are clamoring for the CH coach to make changes to his roster, but Ducharme reiterated for the third time on Saturday that he cannot do so because CH are entitled to just four callbacks after the deadline transactions, and that he has already made three. As there are still 14 games to play, we are trying to keep some leeway.
Until further notice, team leaders will therefore wait until an injury occurs before making any changes.
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Jonathan Drouin, who should in principle be among the best offensive producers in the CH, is undoubtedly the player who best illustrates the period of extreme offensive drought that hit the CH.
Drouin hasn’t scored in his last 24 games and has only collected two assists in his last ten outings. Also, he has only had two scoring chances in his last ten games, and one of them came on Saturday, when Colin White of the Senators graciously handed him the disc in the slot.
CH centers have only scored 20 goals this season, a stat that puts CH at the back of the NHL with centers Columbus (20), Dallas (19), Detroit (19) and New Jersey ( 19). At least three of these last four formations will be excluded from the series in a month.
Meanwhile, Jeff Petry, another essential offensive catalyst, has been down for a month.
On March 13, Petry was the second most productive offensive defenseman in the NHL (11-14-25 and +14). Since that date, Petry has been ranked 68th among NHL full-backs with a production of 1-5-6 and a negative defensive record of -8. Within a defensive brigade mainly made up of large defensive rear, this fuel exhaustion certainly has a striking effect.
With 14 games from the end of the calendar, despite the 6 points ahead of the Flames, the CH will therefore walk a very thin line this week.
The specialized site Sports Club Stats estimates at 90.9% the probabilities that Montreal will participate in the playoffs next May. But that high percentage will melt like snow in the sun if the CH continues to sink as it has over the past two weeks.
A bit like Nigel Mansell’s chances at the Dallas GP in July 1984.
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